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{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|image           = [[File:RexMathesonBaby.JPG|250px]]
|image       = Rex The Blood Line.jpg
|individual name = Rex Matheson
|aka          = [[Billy (The Middle Men)|Billy]]
|alias          = Fly Boy
|species      = Human
|race            = [[Human]]
|job          = Agent
|home planet    = [[Earth]]
|job2        = deputy director
|appearances    = [[TWN]]: ''[[The Men Who Sold the World]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[The New World]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[Rendition (TV story)|Rendition]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[Escape to LA]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[The Categories of Life]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[The Middle Men]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[Immortal Sins]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[End of the Road]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[The Gathering (TV story)|The Gathering]]''<br>[[TW]]: ''[[The Blood Line]]''
|origin      = [[Los Angeles]]
|actor          = [[Mekhi Phifer]]}}
|affiliation  = Central Intelligence Agency
|affiliation2 = Torchwood (team){{!}}Torchwood
|father      = Maurice Matheson
|first        = The New World (TV story)
|appearances  = [[Rex Matheson - list of appearances|'''''see list''''']]
|actor        = Mekhi Phifer
|clip        = Torchwood Miracle Day - Torchwood Arrested
}}
'''Rex Matheson''' was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [[agent]] and a member of the [[Torchwood (team)|Torchwood team]].


'''Rex Matheson''' was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] agent in the [[21st century]] and a member of [[Torchwood (team)|Torchwood]] in the year [[2011]].
Saved from [[death]] by [[Miracle Day|the Miracle]], Rex extradited [[Jack Harkness]] and [[Gwen Cooper]] to investigate the phenomenon and was forced to join them and [[Esther Drummond]] in going on the run, eventually clearing his name and helping end the Miracle at the cost of Esther's life. Rex found that he had become [[immortality|immortal]] after feeding [[the Blessing]] Jack's transfused blood and went on to become Deputy Director of the CIA, working to clear up after the Miracle and hunt down the [[Three Families]].


==Biography==
== Biography ==
Matheson was raised in the [[Los Angeles]] area by a father with severe personal and financial problems. After growing up and joining the CIA, Matheson remained out of contact with his father and told acquaintances that he was from the east coast of the [[United States of America|United States]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[Escape to LA]]'')
=== Early life ===
Rex Matheson was the son of [[Maurice Matheson]], who lived in a "dump" in [[Los Angeles]] and believed that Rex never cared for anybody but himself. He left his father circa [[1996]] and joined the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], an organisation which his father did not trust. He had no contact with his father and told people that he had no family and was from [[New York (state)|New York]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})


Matheson was in the middle of a mobile phone conversation with his colleague [[Esther Drummond]] when a truck in front of his car stopped suddenly and sent several poles through his windshield, impaling him. Matheson awoke in a hospital and learnt that one of the poles had struck his heart and should have killed him, but did not -- the [[Miracle Day]] event, which prevented all humans on [[Earth]] from dying. Matheson began to investigate the phenomenon, and his hunt for answers led him to [[Wales]], where he sought out [[Gwen Cooper]], a known member of the [[Torchwood Institute]]. On finding her, he collapsed due to his injuries and was taken prisoner. Matheson freed himself and escaped from an armed [[helicopter]] with Cooper, her husband [[Rhys Williams]] and their child [[Anwen Williams]], and [[Jack Harkness]]. After making their way to [[Cardiff]], Matheson informed the police of their whereabouts and ordered that the others be taken to America, under special protocols allowing their [[rendition]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[The New World]]'')
=== Early career ===
Rex worked in Clandestine and once spent eighteen months working out routes in [[Maracaibo]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}) He had a relationship with [[Lyn Peterfield]] which ended because they irritated one another ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) and, according to [[Allen Shapiro]], women whom he had [[sex]] with ended up bitter afterwards. ([[TV]]: {{cs|End of the Road (TV story)}}) He worked closely with [[Esther Drummond]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}})


Upon arrival at [[Heathrow Airport]], Matheson ordered Harkness and Cooper taken aboard the plane commandeered for the rendition, but that Cooper's husband and baby to be returned to Wales. Once in flight, Matheson discovered that he had underestimated Torchwood, as Harkness' knowledge of possible causes of the Miracle were better than any he had heard. He also learned from a scan from Harkness' [[vortex manipulator]] that his sodium levels were low. Matheson later realized that one of his fellow agents, [[Lyn Peterfield]], had poisoned Harkness without his orders. Working with Doctor [[Vera Juarez]] by phone, Cooper, and the flight attendents, an antidote to the poison was found. On landing back in America, Matheson was called by Esther Drummond, who informed him that the CIA had cleared out his office and turned on him. Realising his situation, Matheson attacked Peterfield and the corrupt CIA agents escorting them, freed Harkness and Cooper, and in escaping with them and with Drummond, effectively became part of the Torchwood team. ([[TW]]: ''[[Rendition (TV story)|Rendition]]'') Matheson suspected that his superior, [[Brian Friedkin]], was responsible for betraying them, and broke into Friedkin's home in the middle of the night to confront him at gunpoint. He learned only that Friedkin was under the command of unknown forces that were more powerful than the CIA. Before leaving, Matheson fired his gun next to Friedkin's ear, temporarily deafening him. ([[TW]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]'')
Teaming up with [[Glen Shaeffer]], Rex tracked a group who were supposed to be transporting weapons from [[the Hub]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] and caused destruction in [[South America]] and [[Colorado]] which seriously jeopardised his position and reputation. However, the pair continued the search without CIA support. [[Wynter (The Men Who Sold the World)|Mr Wynter]] used an [[Ytraxorian]] [[Reality Rifle]] to rewrite history so that Rex and Glen prevented the assassination of the [[President of the United States|president]] because he admired the spark of idealism he saw in Matheson, but he promised that he would [[kill]] him if he ever saw him again. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Men Who Sold the World (novel)}})


The four began investigating Miracle Day while in hiding, but Matheson at first insisted on trying to work within the system by calling a mentor in the CIA for help. From hiding near the hotel he and his mentor had arranged as a meeting place, Matheson saw police swarm the entrance, proof that they were truly on their own. He struggled against his frustration with the their circumstances, and with his own damaged heart, which continued to heal slowly but which caused him frequent pain and bled when placed under intense physical stress. Looking for help, Matheson broke into Dr. Juarez's home in order to obtain medical treatment, a meeting which led to a sexual encounter. ([[TW]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]'')
=== The Miracle ===
==== Joining Torchwood ====
Whilst informing Esther of his inevitable promotion following [[Steve Reynolds]]'s [[Steve Reynolds' wife|wife]]'s diagnosis over the [[telephone]], Rex was impaled by several poles carried by a braking [[lorry]] and operated on by [[Vera Juarez]] at [[City General Hospital]]. He survived thanks to [[Miracle Day|the Miracle]] and decided to extradite [[Jack Harkness]] and [[Gwen Cooper]] after learning that an [[email]] containing [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]]'s name was sent to the CIA at the same time as the last recorded [[death]], flying to [[Heathrow Airport]] and driving to Gwen's home in [[Wales]]. Thanks to [[Andy Davidson]] and [[South Wales Police]], he was able to capture Jack and Gwen as well as [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]] and [[Anwen Williams]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}})


Functioning with the other team members was productive, with Matheson helping the new Torchwood to find [[PhiCorp]]'s massive stockpile of painkillers in preparation for Miracle Day, devising the plan to penetrate PhiCorp's Los Angeles headquarters in order to steal sensitive computer equipment, and coming to the resuce of Harkness and Cooper when the two were tied and threatened with torture. However, the relationship was also tense. Matheson berated Cooper and Drummond for remaining in contact with family and jeopardizing their safety, despite taking time to briefly visit his destitute and antagonistic father. He also came into regular conflict with Harkness over who should lead the group, and he regularly expressed discomfort with Harkness' open homosexuality. Throughout this time, Matheson continued to take PhiCorp painkillers for his condition. ([[TW]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]'', ''[[Escape to LA]]'')
Rex had Rhys and Anwen returned home whilst Jack and Gwen were forced on an [[aeroplane]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] and contacted Vera to supply him with [[painkiller]]s once he arrived in return for the chance to examine the mortal Jack. He [[handcuffs|handcuffed]] Lyn, who joined him in the rendition, to a seat after she [[poison]]ed Jack and got Vera's help to create [[Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid|EDTA]] to cure him. When the aeroplane landed, Rex was informed by Esther that the CIA was framing the two of them and he went on the run with her, Jack and Gwen. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}})


After the [[categories of life]] were announced and the [[overflow camp]]s were established, Dr. Juarez contacted Matheson, telling him that she wanted to join the Torchwood team. After she arrived in LA, the team decided to infiltrate an overflow camp. It was decided that Drummond would pose as an office worker at the camp, and Juarez suggested that she could use her position on the medical panels to infiltrate the facility. However, Matheson pulled rank on Juarez, and decided that he would use his injury to gain access. After being processed and given a category two blue pin, Matheson tried to argue that he was actually a category one, but his arguments were dismissed by the camp staff. Drummond soon arrived and was able to reclassify Matheson into category one, and secretly gave him a video camera. Matheson was then taken to the [[module]]s with other category ones and left inside. He began recording the stacked bodies inside the module, and then stepped outside to continue recording. When he returned to the module, he found Juarez — who had ignored his order and entered the camp anyway — locked inside. He attempted to free her, but the module was activated and Juarez was burned alive. Matheson recorded the incident so that he would have evidence of the crimes against humanity that were occurring. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Categories of Life]]'')
Rex threatened [[Brian Friedkin]] into revealing who paid him to frame him and Esther and got his hands on a [[mobile phone]] which Friedkin's paymasters contacted him on. The team learnt that [[PhiCorp]] had a stockpile of painkillers which Friedkin was keeping secret and Rex tried to expose the company by getting in contact with his senior instructor at Langley, but his instructor called the [[police]] and Rex left the others rather than join them in trying to take down PhiCorp themselves. After visiting Vera, having sex with her and convincing her to help infiltrate PhiCorp, he returned to the others and was forced to leave [[Washington DC]] with them when Friedkin's phone was traced. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}})


Matheson attempted to escape the camp in a stolen military uniform, but was stopped by guards and placed in chains. Matheson informed them that he was Torchwood, and was allowed to speak with [[Colin Maloney]], director of the camp. Matheson confronted him about the modules, but Maloney claimed that he was just a middle man who had no say in the installation of the ovens. Matheson told him about Juarez's murder and showed him the video he had recorded. Unaware of Maloney’s role in the killing, Matheson told the director that he would be a hero if he freed him and helped him expose the government’s crimes. In response, Maloney drove a pen into Matheson's open wound until he passed out from the pain. At that moment, Drummond arrived, struggled violently with Maloney, and was eventually able to free Matheson. Resting briefly after escaping the camp, Matheson consoled Drummond in her state of shock. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Middle Men]]'')
==== Exposing the camps ====
Fleeing to [[Los Angeles]] to steal a secure server from PhiCorp's headquarters, Rex visited [[Maurice Matheson|his father]], who was selling stolen painkillers and showed no interest in him despite his near-death experience. He came up with a strategy to get [[Nicolas Frumkin]]'s [[biometrics]] to access the IT centre and led the mission from the group's temporary base, becoming angry with Esther upon realising that she had been followed after visiting [[Sarah Drummond|her sister]]'s home. He saved Jack and Gwen by shooting [[The Gentleman (Escape to LA)|the Gentleman]] and gave Esther one final warning before she accessed the server and uncovered the construction of [[overflow camp]]s. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})


Upon returning to their base, Drummond tried to comfort Matheson about Juarez's death and asked if he had tried to contact her family. Matheson pointed out that he hardly knew her, and asked Drummond to drop the subject. Drummond soon realized that Gwen Cooper's family had been taken hostage and that she had been forced to kidnap Jack Harkness. While they followed Cooper's vehicle, Matheson called Juarez's brother, and contacted [[Andy Davidson]] for his help in saving Cooper's family. At the rendezvous point, Matheson, hidden in the grass some distance away, used a sniper rifle to free Cooper and Harkness and force [[Olivia Colasanto]] and her men to surrender. Despite their victory, Matheson and the others were persuaded by Olivia to come with her to meet a man who knew the true nature of the Miracle — her grandfather, [[Angelo Colasanto]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[Immortal Sins]]'')
Vera told Torchwood about the [[categories of life]] and joined them, but Rex forbade her from investigating the module at the [[San Pedro Overflow Camp]] as an observer and had himself taken to the camp as a wounded man. With Esther's help, he was classified [[Category 1]] and sent to the module where he used a [[video camera]] to expose what was being done with those who would otherwise be dead. He found that Vera had been put into one of the modules and, after failing to get her out as she started to burn, he recorded her incineration as evidence ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Categories of Life (TV story)}}) and disavowed any association with the CIA, identifying himself as Torchwood.


Matheson’s call to Juarez’s brother was intercepted, and Matheson and the rest of the Torchwood team were captured by Brian Friedkin and several loyal CIA operatives at the Colasanto residence. Matheson was taunted and threatened by Friedkin in the same manner that Matheson had confronted him, but he was able to manipulate Friedkin into admitting that [[The Families| the Families]] had been paying him and “owned” him — a confession that was recorded and broadcast by Matheson’s [[eye-5]] contact lenses. Moments later, the Torchwood members were freed by a legitimate CIA team led by [[Allen Shapiro]], one of Friedkin’s superiors. Matheson told Shapiro that the phone call was intended to draw the CIA’s attention and to prove his and Drummond’s innocence. Enough evidence was present for Matheson and Drummond to regain their former positions. ([[TW]]: ''[[End of the Road]]'')
Rex was determined to make the footage he had captured public and disguised himself as a [[guard]] to get out of the camp when it came under [[lockdown]], but he was almost immediately captured and tried to get [[Colin Maloney]] to let him go by telling him about Vera's death, unaware that Maloney was the one who killed her. Esther and [[Ralph Coltrane]] stopped Maloney from silencing Rex and he and Esther escaped, allowing them to expose the overflow camps. Despite this, they were not immediately shut down ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}}) and were merely "paused", an outcome which Rex was unhappy with. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Immortal Sins (TV story)}})


Before leaving the Colasanto residence, Angelo suddenly died, becoming the first person to die since Miracle Day, and Matheson remained with the CIA agents there to determine how this had happened. After a [[null field generator]] under Angelo's bed was discovered, Harkness privately informed Matheson and Drummond that the generator cancelled out the [[morphic field]] that was preventing death, and that the technology was too dangerous to be given to the CIA. Matheson helped Harkness to escape with a component from the generator, but decided to stay to help the CIA continue the investigation. ([[TW]]: ''[[End of the Road]]'')
==== Return to the CIA ====
Although he insisted that he had not known Vera very well, Rex refused to talk about her following her death. He and Esther learnt from the [[Eye-5]] cache that Gwen had been [[blackmail]]ed into kidnapping Jack and ensured that [[Andy Davidson|Andy]] saved [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]], [[Anwen Williams|Anwen]] and [[Mary Cooper]] whilst they followed the two of them and forced [[Olivia Colasanto]]'s bodyguards to drop their weapons. Despite this, Olivia remained certain that Jack would go with her to see [[Angelo Colasanto]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Immortal Sins (TV story)}}) Rex made a phone call to [[Vera Juarez's brother|Vera's brother]] so that he would be traced by the CIA as part of his plan to expose Friedkin and clear his name.


Matheson spent the next two months investigating the Miracle and [[the Three Families]]. He and the CIA made little progress for most of that time, as the Families had spent the past century making it difficult to find them, and [[Charlotte Willis]], an operative of the Families working inside the CIA, impeded the investigation. Eventually, Matheson found a short story that shared many similarities with the events of Harkness's imprisonment in [[1928]], believing that a relative of the story's author had married into the Three Families. Another relative had been murdered, and the CIA had access to the murder weapon, inspiring Matheson to order that the weapon be analyzed for DNA traces; however, Willis was assigned to run the DNA trace, and lied about the results. In time, the Torchwood team speculated that the cause of the Miracle, [[the Blessing]], was located at opposite sides of the planet, and Matheson traveled to meet Drummond in [[Buenos Aires]], while Harkness and Cooper went to [[Shanghai]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Gathering (TV story)|The Gathering]]'')
As Rex predicted, Friedkin arrived at the Colasanto estate and he was able to use the Eye-5s to expose his connection to the [[Three Families]], leading to Friedkin being arrested by [[Allen Shapiro]] and Rex and Esther's names being cleared. He was initially able to keep Shapiro from deporting Gwen, but Shapiro had her sent back to [[Wales]] to force Jack into examining the [[null field generator]] which allowed Angelo to die and which Rex recognised would be used just like the modules. Accordingly, he helped Jack and Esther escape with the generator's alpha panel whilst he remained with the CIA, believing that they now had a chance to put an end to the Miracle and that he was needed. ([[TV]]: {{cs|End of the Road (TV story)}})


In Buenos Aires, Matheson and Drummond secretly performed a blood transfusion, replacing Matheson's blood with stored blood taken earlier from Harkness. While they worked with an Argentine army squad, a soldier opened the case containing Matheson's blood, and believing that it was Harkness' blood, detonated a suicide bomb that destroyed the truck and most of the squad. Matheson ordered the survivng army captain to pretend that he and Drummond had become category ones, in order to throw off the Three Families. Matheson and Drummond then made their way to the Blessing, where they were taken prisoner. While communicating with members of the Families and with the rest of the Torchwood team in Shanghai, Matheson revealed that he had Harkness's blood in his body. He and Harkness agreed to sacrifice their lives at the same time, feeding mortal blood to both ends of the Blessing and ending the Miracle. The leader of the Families in Buenos Aires then shot Drummond, forcing Matheson to hesitate in order to maintain the Miracle and to save Drummond. Despite this, Matheson reluctantly agreed to proceed, and removed the bandage from his chest, allowing the Blessing to pull large quantities of blood from his wound. As the Blessing shook violently and the Miracle ended, Matheson rose to his feet and threw the Families leader to his death before collapsing once again. He and Drummond were then rescued by the army, but only Matheson survived.
Rex spent two months trying to track down the Three Families, but he made little progress because of [[Charlotte Wills]] sabotaging the investigation until he deduced that [[Victor Podesta]]'s family married into one of them and that he moved to [[Argentina]] under a different name. He was contacted by Esther to provide translation services for a news report which led Torchwood to discover the existence of [[the Blessing]] in both [[Buenos Aires]] and [[Shanghai]]. With Shapiro's permission, he went off the grid and met Esther in Buenos Aires ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Gathering (TV story)}}) where she transfused his blood with Jack's to keep it from being lost if the [[blood bag]]s which she took with her were destroyed.


Matheson attended Drummond's funeral with the remaining Torchwood members, Rhys Williams, and Charlotte Willis. He tried to participate in the service, but struggled visibly with his own grief. After the service, he learned the truth of Willis' duplicity. He attempted to stop her, but was killed by Willis before she herself was taken down. To everyone's shock, Matheson resurrected a moment later and his wound healed, indicating he had somehow gained Harkness's immortality. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Blood Line]]'')
[[File:Rex feeds the Blessing.jpg|thumb|left|Rex feeds [[the Blessing]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})]]
Rex got the CIA's help to locate the Blessing and he and Esther were joined by Argentinean [[soldier]]s, one of whom used a [[bomb]] to destroy the blood bags and unwittingly gave Rex and Esther the opportunity to fake their deaths in the explosion. At the site of the Blessing, they were confronted by [[the Cousin]], who threatened to shoot Esther and eventually did so in an attempt to keep Rex and Jack from feeding their blood to the Blessing simultaneously. Gwen persuaded Rex to end the Miracle despite his concern for Esther and he kissed her goodbye before releasing his blood and throwing the Cousin to his death, after which he collapsed and was treated by [[paramedic]]s. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})


==Special Abilities==
=== After the Miracle ===
After receiving a transfusion of [[Jack Harkness]]'s mortal blood while rendered undying by the Miracle, and in combination with the mysterious properties of [[the Blessing]], Matheson gained Harkness's [[immortality]], rendering him a similar "fixed point" in time, and unable to die by nearly any means and the ability to rapidly heal from any wound. This ability does not activate immediately, however. After being drained of blood by the Blessing, Matheson survived and continued to carry the wound he had obtained several months previously. It was only after he was shot and killed by Charlotte Willis that he was resurrected, with both wounds fully healed.
Having made a recovery and returned to the US, Rex attended Esther's [[funeral]] with Jack, Gwen, Rhys and [[Charlotte Wills|Charlotte]] and wanted to know if Torchwood was being reformed or not. He learnt that [[Noah Vickers]] had identified Charlotte as the Families' agent in the CIA and went to confront her, but she shot him dead and he was surprised to find that he had become [[immortality|immortal]] like Jack. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}}) Jack left [[Earth]] shortly afterwards. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Exodus Code (novel)}})
===Deaths===
 
*Impaled through the chest by a pole ([[TW]]: ''[[The New World]]'')
Rex got a telephone call from [[Lucas Avery]] of [[Homeland Security]] and informed him of all the good things that Gwen had done after he took her, Rhys and [[Anwen Williams|Anwen]] into his custody. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Army of One (audio story)}})
*Drained of his blood by the Blessing ([[TW]]: ''[[The Blood Line]]'')
 
''These first two deaths are living deaths, due to Miracle day.''
By [[2012]], Rex had been appointed [[Deputy Director]] of the CIA and was determined to track down the Three Families. He was impressed by [[Darren Crowder]]'s [[journalism]] following the Miracle and hired him as an [[analyst]] in the newly-created [[Office of Geo-Global Affairs]], referred to behind Rex's back as "the Morgue". He stepped in to lead the mission in [[Peru]] to capture [[Olivares Donoso]], who had connections to the Families, when Donoso escaped and [[Isela Castenado]], whom he ordered to be captured because of her attempt to kidnap Donoso, got away with Jack's help. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Exodus Code (novel)}})
*Shot by Charlotte Willis ([[TW]]: ''[[The Blood Line]]'')'' Came back to life due to having gained Jack Harkness's immortality.
 
== Personality ==
Matheson was a determined, persevering, and competently serious man who had a no-nonsense attitude, but also a deep amount of compassion, albeit peppered with a dry wit. He was capable of great kindness and love for those he held close, including romantic and sexual relationships. In this respect, he was deeply hurt by the loss of his lover, Vera Juarez. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Categories of Life (TV story)}}) Matheson also had a deeply ingrained attitude, and would frequently say "what the hell" or "shit" when frustrated. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}, et al.) He preferred CIA professionalism over the haphazard operations of Torchwood, and valued the principles he was taught to follow. When he extradited Torchwood to the U.S., they had a passive-aggressive relationship with one another, especially Gwen Cooper, after Matheson separated her from her child. He justified this by telling Cooper that it would be unwise to let her baby get caught up in the violence connected to the investigation of the Miracle. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Gathering (TV story)}})
 
Jack Harkness tended to agitate him with his tendency to make jokes instead of maintaining a professional work ethic. The flippant [[gay]] jokes he made were not a pet peeve, but Matheson did not like being the butt of them. To this extent, Rex thought of him as a man in his forties acting like a twenty-year-old, and nicknamed him "[[World War II]]" for his flying ace period dress. Despite the rocky start, Rex eventually reached friendly terms with Harkness and Cooper until he was at last considered one of the team. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Categories of Life (TV story)}})
 
Quite protective, Matheson kept close watch on the secret operations he undertook, and if he noticed even the slightest risk of a breach, he would quickly put an end to it. His experience, however, made him initially unfair on the rather green Esther Drummond, who made a few mistakes because she was not fully acclimated to the atmosphere of clandestine operations. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}}) When she nearly instigated the demise of Torchwood by visiting her distraught sister out in the open, he gave her a final warning not to risk blowing their cover again. Matheson warmed up to Esther as she grew more comfortable with her undercover duties. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}}) Although he had been hard on her at first, Rex gave her kindness and sympathy when she needed it. He encouraged her with the occasional kiss on the forehead, and reacted strongly after she was murdered by [[the Cousin]]. He was still in deep sorrow at the time of her funeral. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})
 
As a trained CIA agent, Matheson was trained to kill if necessary by administering neck snaps or lethal gunshot wounds. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) He would take lives in hot-blooded self-defence, with the exception of personal injustice to himself or his teammates, leading him to kill for revenge. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}}) However, his survival instincts were so overwhelming under duress that he would resort to deadly force first, without thinking a culprit might have vital information to divulge. As such, he shot a trained assassin in the throat under the impression he would shoot Cooper, which left him unable to get a lead on [[The Three Families]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})
 
== Skills and abilities ==
Having been trained by the CIA, he was skilled with several firearms, ranging from handguns to assault rifles, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}) and even a double barrelled shotgun. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}}) He could also use a sniper rifle, maintaining his aim directly at a target's head. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Immortal Sins (TV story)}})
 
Rex was also, in Esther's own words, the "best strategist of [the group]", proven when he orchestrated the plan to get Nicholas Frumkin's biometrics and knew how to gain entry in to Phicorp's headquarters. He was also very serious during the missions, viewing saying "good luck" as "kids' stuff" as well as the use of mobile phones to contact people while undercover as "dangerous". ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})
 
Rex was also skilled in fisticuffs, displayed when he overpowered a CIA body guard without assistance, managed to break a woman's neck despite her initially having the upper-hand ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) and knocked out a U.S. Ranger with a single punch to the jaw. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}}) He also disarmed his father of his shotgun in seconds ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}}) and managed to toss the Cousin over a set of rails despite his chest wound weakening him. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}}) He was also quite stealthy, sneaking up on a CIA agent and knocking them out with a blow to the back of their head. ([[TV]]: {{cs|End of the Road (TV story)}})
 
During the "Miracle day" phenomenon, he couldn't die, proven when he was impaled through the chest by a metal rod yet survived long enough to be treated. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}) This later persisted when he was stabbed through his ruptured chest with a pen but did not die from the blood loss or trauma. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}})
 
For the first few days after being impaled, Rex struggled to even move, but his resilience improved; managing to walk, drive and eventually run despite the damage to his chest and leg. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}) Rex even managed to run up thirty flights of stairs despite the extreme strain it imposed on his body. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}}) He didn't always maintain this pain tolerance, however, screaming in agony when stabbed. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}})
 
After receiving a transfusion of Jack Harkness's mortal blood and feeding it to the Blessing, Matheson resurrected in a manner similar to Harkness's immortality. However, the extent of his ability to resurrect was unknown, and it was unclear if he was a [[fixed point in time]] like Harkness. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})
 
=== Deaths ===
Matheson recovered or was resurrected from the following fatal injuries:
* Impaled through the chest by a metal pole as a result of a car crash soon after the Miracle had occurred. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}})
* Stabbed in his ruptured chest with a pen. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}})
* Drained of his blood by the Blessing. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})
* Shot by Charlotte Wills. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})


{{Torchwood Series 4 aliens}}
{{Torchwood Team Members}}
{{Torchwood Team Members}}
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[[Category:Human CIA agents]]
 
[[Category:Torchwood Three allies]]
[[Category:CIA agents]]
[[Category:21st century individuals]]
[[Category:21st century individuals]]
[[Category:Torchwood Three personnel]]
[[Category:Torchwood team personnel]]
[[Category:Immortals]]
[[Category:Los Angeles residents]]

Latest revision as of 09:32, 22 September 2024

Rex Matheson was a CIA agent and a member of the Torchwood team.

Saved from death by the Miracle, Rex extradited Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper to investigate the phenomenon and was forced to join them and Esther Drummond in going on the run, eventually clearing his name and helping end the Miracle at the cost of Esther's life. Rex found that he had become immortal after feeding the Blessing Jack's transfused blood and went on to become Deputy Director of the CIA, working to clear up after the Miracle and hunt down the Three Families.

Biography[[edit]]

Early life[[edit]]

Rex Matheson was the son of Maurice Matheson, who lived in a "dump" in Los Angeles and believed that Rex never cared for anybody but himself. He left his father circa 1996 and joined the Central Intelligence Agency, an organisation which his father did not trust. He had no contact with his father and told people that he had no family and was from New York. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Early career[[edit]]

Rex worked in Clandestine and once spent eighteen months working out routes in Maracaibo. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) He had a relationship with Lyn Peterfield which ended because they irritated one another (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) and, according to Allen Shapiro, women whom he had sex with ended up bitter afterwards. (TV: End of the Road [+]Loading...["End of the Road (TV story)"]) He worked closely with Esther Drummond. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"])

Teaming up with Glen Shaeffer, Rex tracked a group who were supposed to be transporting weapons from the Hub to the United States and caused destruction in South America and Colorado which seriously jeopardised his position and reputation. However, the pair continued the search without CIA support. Mr Wynter used an Ytraxorian Reality Rifle to rewrite history so that Rex and Glen prevented the assassination of the president because he admired the spark of idealism he saw in Matheson, but he promised that he would kill him if he ever saw him again. (PROSE: The Men Who Sold the World [+]Loading...["The Men Who Sold the World (novel)"])

The Miracle[[edit]]

Joining Torchwood[[edit]]

Whilst informing Esther of his inevitable promotion following Steve Reynolds's wife's diagnosis over the telephone, Rex was impaled by several poles carried by a braking lorry and operated on by Vera Juarez at City General Hospital. He survived thanks to the Miracle and decided to extradite Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper after learning that an email containing Torchwood's name was sent to the CIA at the same time as the last recorded death, flying to Heathrow Airport and driving to Gwen's home in Wales. Thanks to Andy Davidson and South Wales Police, he was able to capture Jack and Gwen as well as Rhys and Anwen Williams. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"])

Rex had Rhys and Anwen returned home whilst Jack and Gwen were forced on an aeroplane to the United States and contacted Vera to supply him with painkillers once he arrived in return for the chance to examine the mortal Jack. He handcuffed Lyn, who joined him in the rendition, to a seat after she poisoned Jack and got Vera's help to create EDTA to cure him. When the aeroplane landed, Rex was informed by Esther that the CIA was framing the two of them and he went on the run with her, Jack and Gwen. (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"])

Rex threatened Brian Friedkin into revealing who paid him to frame him and Esther and got his hands on a mobile phone which Friedkin's paymasters contacted him on. The team learnt that PhiCorp had a stockpile of painkillers which Friedkin was keeping secret and Rex tried to expose the company by getting in contact with his senior instructor at Langley, but his instructor called the police and Rex left the others rather than join them in trying to take down PhiCorp themselves. After visiting Vera, having sex with her and convincing her to help infiltrate PhiCorp, he returned to the others and was forced to leave Washington DC with them when Friedkin's phone was traced. (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"])

Exposing the camps[[edit]]

Fleeing to Los Angeles to steal a secure server from PhiCorp's headquarters, Rex visited his father, who was selling stolen painkillers and showed no interest in him despite his near-death experience. He came up with a strategy to get Nicolas Frumkin's biometrics to access the IT centre and led the mission from the group's temporary base, becoming angry with Esther upon realising that she had been followed after visiting her sister's home. He saved Jack and Gwen by shooting the Gentleman and gave Esther one final warning before she accessed the server and uncovered the construction of overflow camps. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Vera told Torchwood about the categories of life and joined them, but Rex forbade her from investigating the module at the San Pedro Overflow Camp as an observer and had himself taken to the camp as a wounded man. With Esther's help, he was classified Category 1 and sent to the module where he used a video camera to expose what was being done with those who would otherwise be dead. He found that Vera had been put into one of the modules and, after failing to get her out as she started to burn, he recorded her incineration as evidence (TV: The Categories of Life [+]Loading...["The Categories of Life (TV story)"]) and disavowed any association with the CIA, identifying himself as Torchwood.

Rex was determined to make the footage he had captured public and disguised himself as a guard to get out of the camp when it came under lockdown, but he was almost immediately captured and tried to get Colin Maloney to let him go by telling him about Vera's death, unaware that Maloney was the one who killed her. Esther and Ralph Coltrane stopped Maloney from silencing Rex and he and Esther escaped, allowing them to expose the overflow camps. Despite this, they were not immediately shut down (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"]) and were merely "paused", an outcome which Rex was unhappy with. (TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"])

Return to the CIA[[edit]]

Although he insisted that he had not known Vera very well, Rex refused to talk about her following her death. He and Esther learnt from the Eye-5 cache that Gwen had been blackmailed into kidnapping Jack and ensured that Andy saved Rhys, Anwen and Mary Cooper whilst they followed the two of them and forced Olivia Colasanto's bodyguards to drop their weapons. Despite this, Olivia remained certain that Jack would go with her to see Angelo Colasanto. (TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"]) Rex made a phone call to Vera's brother so that he would be traced by the CIA as part of his plan to expose Friedkin and clear his name.

As Rex predicted, Friedkin arrived at the Colasanto estate and he was able to use the Eye-5s to expose his connection to the Three Families, leading to Friedkin being arrested by Allen Shapiro and Rex and Esther's names being cleared. He was initially able to keep Shapiro from deporting Gwen, but Shapiro had her sent back to Wales to force Jack into examining the null field generator which allowed Angelo to die and which Rex recognised would be used just like the modules. Accordingly, he helped Jack and Esther escape with the generator's alpha panel whilst he remained with the CIA, believing that they now had a chance to put an end to the Miracle and that he was needed. (TV: End of the Road [+]Loading...["End of the Road (TV story)"])

Rex spent two months trying to track down the Three Families, but he made little progress because of Charlotte Wills sabotaging the investigation until he deduced that Victor Podesta's family married into one of them and that he moved to Argentina under a different name. He was contacted by Esther to provide translation services for a news report which led Torchwood to discover the existence of the Blessing in both Buenos Aires and Shanghai. With Shapiro's permission, he went off the grid and met Esther in Buenos Aires (TV: The Gathering [+]Loading...["The Gathering (TV story)"]) where she transfused his blood with Jack's to keep it from being lost if the blood bags which she took with her were destroyed.

Rex feeds the Blessing. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Rex got the CIA's help to locate the Blessing and he and Esther were joined by Argentinean soldiers, one of whom used a bomb to destroy the blood bags and unwittingly gave Rex and Esther the opportunity to fake their deaths in the explosion. At the site of the Blessing, they were confronted by the Cousin, who threatened to shoot Esther and eventually did so in an attempt to keep Rex and Jack from feeding their blood to the Blessing simultaneously. Gwen persuaded Rex to end the Miracle despite his concern for Esther and he kissed her goodbye before releasing his blood and throwing the Cousin to his death, after which he collapsed and was treated by paramedics. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

After the Miracle[[edit]]

Having made a recovery and returned to the US, Rex attended Esther's funeral with Jack, Gwen, Rhys and Charlotte and wanted to know if Torchwood was being reformed or not. He learnt that Noah Vickers had identified Charlotte as the Families' agent in the CIA and went to confront her, but she shot him dead and he was surprised to find that he had become immortal like Jack. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"]) Jack left Earth shortly afterwards. (PROSE: Exodus Code [+]Loading...["Exodus Code (novel)"])

Rex got a telephone call from Lucas Avery of Homeland Security and informed him of all the good things that Gwen had done after he took her, Rhys and Anwen into his custody. (AUDIO: Army of One [+]Loading...["Army of One (audio story)"])

By 2012, Rex had been appointed Deputy Director of the CIA and was determined to track down the Three Families. He was impressed by Darren Crowder's journalism following the Miracle and hired him as an analyst in the newly-created Office of Geo-Global Affairs, referred to behind Rex's back as "the Morgue". He stepped in to lead the mission in Peru to capture Olivares Donoso, who had connections to the Families, when Donoso escaped and Isela Castenado, whom he ordered to be captured because of her attempt to kidnap Donoso, got away with Jack's help. (PROSE: Exodus Code [+]Loading...["Exodus Code (novel)"])

Personality[[edit]]

Matheson was a determined, persevering, and competently serious man who had a no-nonsense attitude, but also a deep amount of compassion, albeit peppered with a dry wit. He was capable of great kindness and love for those he held close, including romantic and sexual relationships. In this respect, he was deeply hurt by the loss of his lover, Vera Juarez. (TV: The Categories of Life [+]Loading...["The Categories of Life (TV story)"]) Matheson also had a deeply ingrained attitude, and would frequently say "what the hell" or "shit" when frustrated. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"], et al.) He preferred CIA professionalism over the haphazard operations of Torchwood, and valued the principles he was taught to follow. When he extradited Torchwood to the U.S., they had a passive-aggressive relationship with one another, especially Gwen Cooper, after Matheson separated her from her child. He justified this by telling Cooper that it would be unwise to let her baby get caught up in the violence connected to the investigation of the Miracle. (TV: The Gathering [+]Loading...["The Gathering (TV story)"])

Jack Harkness tended to agitate him with his tendency to make jokes instead of maintaining a professional work ethic. The flippant gay jokes he made were not a pet peeve, but Matheson did not like being the butt of them. To this extent, Rex thought of him as a man in his forties acting like a twenty-year-old, and nicknamed him "World War II" for his flying ace period dress. Despite the rocky start, Rex eventually reached friendly terms with Harkness and Cooper until he was at last considered one of the team. (TV: The Categories of Life [+]Loading...["The Categories of Life (TV story)"])

Quite protective, Matheson kept close watch on the secret operations he undertook, and if he noticed even the slightest risk of a breach, he would quickly put an end to it. His experience, however, made him initially unfair on the rather green Esther Drummond, who made a few mistakes because she was not fully acclimated to the atmosphere of clandestine operations. (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"]) When she nearly instigated the demise of Torchwood by visiting her distraught sister out in the open, he gave her a final warning not to risk blowing their cover again. Matheson warmed up to Esther as she grew more comfortable with her undercover duties. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"]) Although he had been hard on her at first, Rex gave her kindness and sympathy when she needed it. He encouraged her with the occasional kiss on the forehead, and reacted strongly after she was murdered by the Cousin. He was still in deep sorrow at the time of her funeral. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

As a trained CIA agent, Matheson was trained to kill if necessary by administering neck snaps or lethal gunshot wounds. (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) He would take lives in hot-blooded self-defence, with the exception of personal injustice to himself or his teammates, leading him to kill for revenge. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"]) However, his survival instincts were so overwhelming under duress that he would resort to deadly force first, without thinking a culprit might have vital information to divulge. As such, he shot a trained assassin in the throat under the impression he would shoot Cooper, which left him unable to get a lead on The Three Families. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Skills and abilities[[edit]]

Having been trained by the CIA, he was skilled with several firearms, ranging from handguns to assault rifles, (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) and even a double barrelled shotgun. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"]) He could also use a sniper rifle, maintaining his aim directly at a target's head. (TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"])

Rex was also, in Esther's own words, the "best strategist of [the group]", proven when he orchestrated the plan to get Nicholas Frumkin's biometrics and knew how to gain entry in to Phicorp's headquarters. He was also very serious during the missions, viewing saying "good luck" as "kids' stuff" as well as the use of mobile phones to contact people while undercover as "dangerous". (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Rex was also skilled in fisticuffs, displayed when he overpowered a CIA body guard without assistance, managed to break a woman's neck despite her initially having the upper-hand (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) and knocked out a U.S. Ranger with a single punch to the jaw. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"]) He also disarmed his father of his shotgun in seconds (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"]) and managed to toss the Cousin over a set of rails despite his chest wound weakening him. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"]) He was also quite stealthy, sneaking up on a CIA agent and knocking them out with a blow to the back of their head. (TV: End of the Road [+]Loading...["End of the Road (TV story)"])

During the "Miracle day" phenomenon, he couldn't die, proven when he was impaled through the chest by a metal rod yet survived long enough to be treated. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) This later persisted when he was stabbed through his ruptured chest with a pen but did not die from the blood loss or trauma. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"])

For the first few days after being impaled, Rex struggled to even move, but his resilience improved; managing to walk, drive and eventually run despite the damage to his chest and leg. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) Rex even managed to run up thirty flights of stairs despite the extreme strain it imposed on his body. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"]) He didn't always maintain this pain tolerance, however, screaming in agony when stabbed. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"])

After receiving a transfusion of Jack Harkness's mortal blood and feeding it to the Blessing, Matheson resurrected in a manner similar to Harkness's immortality. However, the extent of his ability to resurrect was unknown, and it was unclear if he was a fixed point in time like Harkness. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Deaths[[edit]]

Matheson recovered or was resurrected from the following fatal injuries:

  • Impaled through the chest by a metal pole as a result of a car crash soon after the Miracle had occurred. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"])
  • Stabbed in his ruptured chest with a pen. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"])
  • Drained of his blood by the Blessing. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])
  • Shot by Charlotte Wills. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])
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